The architecture firm MRVDV has built a mountain of a library in Spijkenisse, The Netherlands. Book Mountain is a four-story complex of bookshelves encased in a pyramid of glass. It features a coffee shop, an information desk, a “rooftop” lounge and quiet seating areas throughout its terraces. Under its glass shell, Book Mountain is open an airy with year-round climate control to keep the guests and the books happy and healthy. While daily sunlight might normally be a concern for the books, they’re designed to have a four-year rental life before being sold or donated.
Book Mountain isn’t designed to be just a library, it’s also the center of a new neighborhood concept. It is part of a larger campus that includes 42 social housing units, parks, retail and office spaces. The Book Mountain library is an attraction in and of itself, something to bring in the local public to explore this one-of-a-kind temple of the written word. It’s an exciting development, one that we’d place up there with what we consider to be the most beautiful book store in the world, the Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen in nearby Maastricht. [via designboom]
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Book Mountain by MVRDV | Gallery
